Элла Франк - Exquisite

"Really?" Trisha asked leaning in about to kiss his cheek. He pulled his head away and Lena rolled her eyes. Trisha didn't seem bothered and then asked him, "I thought Casanova was a great lover? The ladies all wanted to be the one with him, maybe that’s why they call you that Mase."

Shelly snorted and Lena raised her hand to the bartender. Greg, came down and she ordered herself a White Russian and Mason felt a jolt go through him, remembering a night when he’d made her White Russian's. A night that had ended with him in her bed for the first time. Lena turned then and moved around Shelly to stop beside them, looking over Trisha as though she were a bug under her shoe. He also remembered the first time these two had met and it had gone completely different, Lena had been intimidated then. Whoever that Lena had been she was not here tonight. Tonight, pissed off, grenade throwing Lena was in full force and she had her target locked on Trisha and him.

"No Trisha." she said slowly as though she were talking to a two year old. Shelly was watching from behind Lena and her eyes were twinkling at him as though she knew he was about to get his ass kicked and she was looking forward to the show.

"One of Casanova's favorite and most appropriate quotes is, 'Desire is only kept alive by being denied: enjoyment kills it, since one cannot desire what one has got' so what do you think that means for you?"

Mason felt Trisha sit up on his lap and his eyes narrowed over her shoulder at the pissed off Lena. She was fuming mad and she was directing it all, surprisingly, at Trisha. He was sure he was the one that deserved it, and honestly she was cutting him down by saying he slept around, but right at this moment he almost feared for Trisha's life. Completely disregarding him as though he was not there Lena moved in closer and put a hand on the bar and narrowed her eyes on Trisha.

"And do you know what they say about desperation Trisha?"

Trisha blinked at her and shook her head, Mason almost groaned knowing she was walking right into that one.

"It stinks."

Lena sniffed the air picking up her glass and taking a sip, "In this case like a bad floral arrangement."

Shelly let out a loud laugh and Mason couldn't help it, he did too. Trisha jumped down off his lap and turned to face him. "Why are you laughing at me? That wasn't funny Mason." and she was right, it’d been bitchy, but Trisha was the queen when it came to bitchiness, she was just upset that tonight she’d been out bitched.

Lena shrugged and looked her up and down once more. "You should cut your losses Trisha."

Then she flicked her eyes to him and for the first time, he felt nothing there. They were empty and cold as she turned back to Trisha

"He's drunk. He doesn't really want you, he's just looking to escape. Do you really want to be that?"

Mason sat up straight now and his mouth fell open, "Hang on a minute."

Lena's eyes flicked back to him. "No you hang on a minute. You should be ashamed of yourself."

Trisha's mouth fell open and she picked her purse up. "I'm gonna go." she turned to Mason, leaned in and kissed his cheek, she whispered call me but he was to busy glaring holes at the infuriating woman in front of him to care. She turned and walked away without either of them noticing.

"Excuse me? This is my place in case you’ve forgotten." he said on a deathly whisper.

She didn't back down however, she moved in close and asked. "Have you?"

He blinked at her and tried to focus, the alcohol was swirling through his head and his eyes kept losing focus. "Have I what?"

"Forgotten that this is your place? You look horrible."

Mason's mouth snapped shut and he stood. "Fuck you."

He watched as she tossed her hair back over her shoulder and reached out to take his glass of scotch, she downed it in a quick gulp then placed the glass back and sneered up at him.

"I'm sorry, that option is no longer available to you Casanova."

She might as well have just said , asshole. "What the hell are you doing here?" he demanded.

"I'm here with work. I was about to leave when Wendy begged me to rid you of the fungus growing to your arm." she paused and looked him over again in a way that said she didn't find one thing about him appealing.

"Do yourself a favor Langley, go home and take a shower. Shave, cut your hair and pretend to be the man you use to be. At least for the people around you."

He moved in closer infuriated by her. After all, knowing she was telling him the truth and hearing it, were two totally different things.

"Where do you get off telling me what to do?" he hissed leaning down at her. "What right do you have?"

She didn't budge, she tilted her head up and glared at him and said softly, "None. But there are at least three women who care about you and give a shit about what happens to you. So pull yourself together."

He narrowed his eyes and breathed in her familiar vanilla scent. "Wendy and Rachel will love me no matter what." and that left the third, did she mean herself?

"So that means it's ok to disappoint them?"

He shook his pounding head and whispered, "You disappointed me."

Lena swallowed and nodded, "I know Mason. Don't do the same thing to them."

He flinched and watched as she turned and motioned for Shelly, who was standing very quietly behind her, watching everything with narrowed eyes. He glanced at her and she shook her head almost as though she were disappointed, whatever, he thought then called after Lena. "Don't do me any favors."

Lena stopped and looked over her shoulder at him, "I didn't do this for you." and with that she left.

The first month passed by slowly. Lena wasn’t sure how she functioned day after day when her heart no longer seemed to work. Her days were long, and her nights seemed longer.

After that night at Exquisite, Lena had made a conscious decision to avoid Mason and anyone or thing to do with him. That was the only way she saw herself dealing with the finality of their relationship. Shelly had been great, she wouldn’t talk about Mason, ask about him or suggest anything even remotely related to him.

Lena continued to go down to visit Carly daily, and she found that her sister was in fact the best person to confide in. Every day she confessed how much it hurt to wake up and make herself go to work and be social with her colleagues, pretending she was doing fine. Fine, that was such a loose and misused word, and each day she found herself looking at the corner store to see if there was a picture of Mason on any of the stands, and when she realized she was doing it she got pissed off and walked into work in a foul mood.

It was Friday night and it was a week before Christmas and her parents were coming down to spend Christmas Eve with her. She was sitting on her couch trying to watch the TV but her mind kept wandering. Over and over she’d asked herself if she’d done the right thing. Should she have told him about his mother and her condition, even after Catherine had asked her not to? It was such a messed up situation there didn’t seem to be any kind of right answer she could decide upon.

What did it matter now anyway? He never wanted to see her again. He’d made that abundantly clear when she’d gone to drop the key off to his condo and the doorman had called up and Mason had told her to leave it down there and he’d pick it up. If that didn’t scream, I don’t want to see you, she didn’t know what did. She felt her eyes starting to fall closed when there was a loud knock on the door. Startled she sat up and looked at the time, 10.43pm. Standing she made her way over and looked through the peephole. There standing on her porch in a long black trench coat was Mason. He had his hands stuffed in his pockets and a burgundy scarf wrapped around his neck. The snow was falling down behind him and he stood there looking over at her small window. He raised his hand about to knock again when Lena took deep breath and opened it.

She looked tired. That was the first thing he noticed when she pulled the door open. Lena stood in front of him in grey sweat pants and a black long sleeve fleece. Her hair was pulled up into a top notch bun and her feet had black socks on them. His eyes met hers and she stood silently holding the door.

“Hello Lena.”

She moved from one foot to the other then stepped back deciding on what she wanted to do. “Hi. Come inside you must be freezing.”

He brushed past her and caught the familiar vanilla scent clinging to her. He heard the door shut and turned to face her. She was standing with her back against it and her hand on the door knob, she looked wary but curious. He moved to the opposite wall and leaned against it looking her over.

“You look tired.” It wasn’t what he meant to say but it just came out.

“It’s nearly 11pm. I was half asleep on the couch.” she defended lifting her chin slightly.

“Do you mind if I take my coat off?” he asked starting to feel particularly hot.

She shook her head her eyes running over him as he did. He knew he looked better than he had the last time she’d seen him. Since then he’d shaved, cut his hair and pretty much started up a regular grooming routine again. He was, however, still drinking more than he should. He draped the coat over the back of her couch then resumed his spot against her wall. The space between them seemed to stretch for miles and he never thought there would ever be a time where there was such an uncomfortable silence between the two of them.